


Hurricane On The Doors

by metaphoricallylivin



Series: Earth 25: Oh, Yeah I'm An Ugly Mess [15]
Category: DCU
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Past Abuse, Trans Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metaphoricallylivin/pseuds/metaphoricallylivin
Summary: Toby's mother is back in town.





	1. Can You Break My Bones?

**Author's Note:**

> TW for past abuse and references to sexual abuse.
> 
> Chapter title comes from Broken by Lund.

Tim looked at his computer, he couldn’t believe it. Toby’s mother had let herself be seen on camera, in Gotham, on Toby’s 17th birthday. He was sure it wasn't a coincidence, that she was there for him. He couldn't let that happen, if he told Toby he'd go after her. Toby had always thought his family’s mistakes were his responsibility, his problem to fix. Still, she had killed his father, she'd killed Bruce, Tim’s only real father and he wanted her to face responsibility. He wanted her to be sorry, even though that would never happen.

 

Tim set the computer to alert him if she was seen alone before turning towards Toby. He was fast asleep, using a pillow as an almost cuddle toy. He was drooling on the sheets and Tim couldn't help, but think about how cute he was. He’d come from something terrible and yet he wasn't broken. He’d become something better, he knew what it was like to be powerless and he'd wanted to make sure no one else was again.

 

“Mmm, Tim, it's my birthday,” Toby mumbled, reaching out his arms for Tim to join him.

 

Tim laughed, moving towards him and wrapping him up in a hug. Toby hummed and seemed to slip back to sleep. Tim breathed heavily, he needed to contact Dick about this. He couldn't handle Freelance alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Toby loved the city, he loved the feeling of being in its borders, the liveliness and home it provided. Gotham was always awake, there was always something going on. It was one of his favorite things about it. He was investigating a case about a teacher who had been abusing his students.

 

Toby sat perched on the fire escape of the man’s apartment. He was watching a television series, the glow of the tv reflecting on the man’s sleeping face. Toby carefully opened the window, flinching at the slight resistance. Toby breathed deeply and crawled in it.

 

He readied his batons, moving towards the man. He hit the man in his kneecap, watching as he jolted awake. His scream was strangled.

 

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

 

Toby took notice of the way his eyes were wide with fear, how he scrambled back, away from Toby. Toby took a brief moment to congratulate himself because he knew beating the shit out of this man was going to be satisfying. Making people who preyed upon the weak get a taste of their own medicine was always satisfying.

 

“Do you remember the kids you hurt? I can remind you of their names. Sydney Wayland, Rickie Jackson, Bobby Levi, Jay Yi. You know them?” Toby asked. “Don't make a sound, you wouldn't want your neighbors knowing what you do.”

 

The man nodded, he was shaking profusely. Toby was pretty sure the man thought the more pathetic he looked the more sorry Toby would feel for him. He was wrong.

 

“Wh...what are you?” the man asked.

 

“I’m every kid you've preyed on. I’m what happens when creeps like you keep on going free, never getting caught. I’m vengeance and I'm retribution. I’m the thing men like you fear,” Toby said, his mouth set to a snarl. 

 

The fight didn't last long after that, Toby knocked the man out, zip tying his arms behind his back before calling 911. He left the case on top of him, all the evidence Toby had compiled, including the kid who had tipped him off to it in the first place. Jay said xe’d be willing to testify in court, but they were afraid of not being believed by the cops. It was an understandable fear, the cops sucked. Toby had found, at least in his experience having a vigilante collect the evidence first helped a little.

 

He climbed to the roof, pausing to catch his breath. He'd asked Cullen to relay the information to the cops on the climb up. He curled his hand into a fist, digging his fingernails into his palms, the case was done. The adrenaline was slowly draining out of his body, leaving him feeling empty and anxious. The sound of sirens came closer and Toby knew he should move, go somewhere else, but he couldn't quite move.

 

“Why didn't you kill him?”

 

Toby jolted, he wasn't quite able to recognize the voice. Still it felt familiar. He look behind him, spotting a figure cloaked in shadows.

 

“Who are you?” Toby asked, trying to recognize anything he could place in the silhouette.

 

“I’m offended you didn't remember your own mother,” she said.

 

“Freelance,” Toby’s voice was dark. He didn't want her near him anymore.

 

“You could've killed that man, why didn't you? Pain won't stop men like that,” she said. Toby watched as her silhouette crossed its arms.

 

“You left me with a man like that and claim to have some moral high ground over them. There's no way you didn't know what kind of man he was. People like that… they don't just start abusing children out of nowhere,” Toby’s voice was wet and his throat hurt, like he might cry at any second.

 

“I can give you the way to make sure men like that don't exist anymore. You don't have to take them down one at a time, I could give you the resources to get rid of them, but only if you join me. Toby, become my heir and you can do everything you've ever wanted,” Freelance’s words sounded great, but Toby knew they couldn't be true.

 

“No. That’s not who, that's not what, I want to be,” Toby said. The tears were pooling in his mask, clouding up the lenses.

 

“Fine, just know that from this moment forward you have declared war against me and Ra’s al Ghul. I hope it was worth it,” she said, before dropping a smoke bomb and practically disappearing into thin air, leaving nothing behind.

 

Toby moved quickly after that, barely noticing his own movements. After less than 20 minutes he was in familiar surroundings. He was back at Luke’s apartment, he took a deep breath, brushing his fingers against the raised parts of his costume. He blew out a huff of air. Toby grabbed his phone out of one of his utility belt pockets and opened up Kon’s contact.

 

To: Konstoppable

From: meme lord

 

_ can you come see me? i know we were planning on meeting up tomorrow, but you're in metropolis, right? _

 

To: meme lord

From: Konstoppable

 

_ ye, want me to come soon? you enjoying your 17th? are you okay? _

 

To: Konstoppable

From: meme lord

 

_ yeah i guess, i’ll talk abt it when you get here _

 

To: meme lord

From: Konstoppable

 

_ sounds good babe! be there in like a half hour-ish? _

 

To: Konstoppable

From: meme lord

 

_ thanks ill make some food for you? want waffles? _

 

To: Konstoppable

From: meme lord

 

_ cuz pancakes are for heterosexuals _

 

To: meme lord

From: Konstoppable

 

_ you know me so well :***** _

 

Toby smiled at his phone, he really loved Tim and Kon. Tim was closer, but he wouldn't understand. He didn't quite understand the whole villain parent thing. Kon did, Lex Luthor was a fucked up dude and the only thing he'd ever done for Kon was give dna. He was a glorified sperm donor. 

 

After a couple seconds Toby went to get a shower, he was starting to notice the way he smelled. He came out of the shower feeling clean and his mind was cleaner. He could focus better, at least well enough to make a batch of waffles and have them mostly finished by the time he heard Kon knock on the window.

 

“You know we have a door?” Toby asked, lifting up the window for Kon to float in.

 

“Yeah, but this way is so much more fun,” Kon said, looping his arms around Toby’s shoulders. He kissed Toby’s cheek. 

 

“Awww, that's gay, babe,” Toby said, his tone was playful.

 

“No het here,” Kon said, kissing Toby’s lips softly. Toby lost himself in the feeling for a few moments. It felt good, natural. Being with people he loved and who loved him was almost surreal. If not for the feeling of them against him he would've thought it’d been a dream over the last few months.

 

After a few seconds the waffle iron went off, signaling the final waffle was ready. Toby pulled out the last waffle. It was slightly over golden brown, but not too bad. Kon still wolfed it down.

 

“So what did you want to talk about?” Kon asked. Toby was in the process of drenching his waffles in strawberry syrup.

 

“My mom, she's back in town and she’s declared war,” Toby said.

 

“Oh shit, that's gonna be bad,” Kon said, part of his waffle was falling out of his mouth.

 

“Yeah. I… um don't know what to do? I'm gonna tell Tim and everyone tomorrow I just wanted to know how you deal with everything Lex does? I mean, a couple years back there was that whole everything with him,” Toby said.

 

“I just ignore it. I’ve figured out I'm not like him by now, he's just a genetic donor, nothing more. Your mom’s the same, all she wants is to use you,” Kon said. “You wanna cuddle?”

 

Toby nodded, settling in against Kon. He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around Kon. He made a soft, contented noise and buried his head in Kon’s chest.

 

“I hate her,” Toby said.

 

“Big fucking mood,” Kon laughed. It was hollow and joyless and Toby was pretty sure that described how he was feeling.


	2. While I'm Falling Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No tws! Chap title comes from Broken by Lund and as always enjoy! :)

Kon woke up to Toby wrapped around him in a death grip. It was cute and he wanted to kiss Toby’s face, it was peaceful. There was no traces of the sadness that seemed to cling to him, just a few scars peppering his body. Kon carefully ran his fingers across the scars on Toby’s arms, slightly raise against the other parts of his arms.

 

Kon knew what had put them there, the Joker. He was a man who made Kon’s blood boil, he hurt innocent people without cause. He like to watch people die, suffer, and he’d hurt Toby. The thought of someone like that disgusted him.

 

Toby had other scars, double incision scars ran under the muscles on his chest. They looked uglier than the other ones, not quite all the way healed yet. They didn't cause pain for him anymore, but still it looked bad. He smiled at Toby, enjoying how warm he was.

 

“Mmmmm, you're smiling, you gay fuck,” Toby said.

 

“I did no such thing! You're lying!” Kon said, jokingly pushing Toby away.

 

“No, you love me! Say it!” Toby said, rolling to straddle Kon’s hips.

 

“Yes, I love you, but you're also a disgusting and I will not admit to this love in open court,” Kon said, moving to kiss Toby’s cheek. He smiled as Toby giggled and flailed wildly.

 

“Uncle! Uncle! Stop kissing me everywhere it tickles!” Toby yelled, he was snorting and twisting out of Kon’s grip.

 

Toby sits there, his laughing calming until it was just him out of breath. Kon hugged him, tight. Toby let out of a soft uh sound and hugged him back, albeit with less force.

 

“What time is it?” Toby asked.

 

“It's 11,” Kon said.

 

“My ‘surprise’ party is at 12. Luke is driving us,” Toby said.

 

“Can't wait to be interrogated by your stepdad,” Kon scoffed, wrapping an arm around Toby’s waist.

 

“He likes you, Jason and Luke just don't trust anyone who wants to date me. I'm not exactly known for the best taste in men,” Toby said, shrugging slightly.

 

Kon flinched slightly. He knew what Toby meant, they'd both dated older people who’d taken advantage of them because they didn't know any better. He knew it was why they didn't trust him and Tim, never the less it somewhat hurt.

 

“Mmmm, let’s get dressed soon. Do you wanna borrow some of my clothes? I think my orange sweatshirt will fit you. I have athletic shorts that might work too,” Toby said.

 

Kon hummed and smiled a little at Toby who was surveying the clothes on the floor, presumably looking for the aforementioned clothing. He spotted the sweatshirt and jumped off of Kon, grabbing it and throwing it towards him. It was short sleeves and a shade of orange that made his eyes hurt. Kon did tacky fashion, but the jacket was something else.

 

“This looks so gay,” Kon said.

 

“All my clothes are gay,” Toby said, grabbing a pair of overalls off the floor, pairing them with a black Superboy shirt.

 

Toby crawled back into bed with Kon, placing his head on Kon’s chest. Toby’s heartbeat was a comforting fixture in his life. The sound of Tim and Toby’s heartbeats proved they were there, that he could protect them.

 

Kon savored the feeling of them together, living several thousand miles apart meant he was as only able to see one another as often as they'd like. Whenever they got to see one another Kon always made sure to pay attention to the proof that it was them, that they were there. Their cuddling was interrupted by the sound of Luke yelling for them to hurry the fuck up.

 

Kon moved quickly, putting on the clothes and lacing up his shoes. Toby sighed dramatically before pulling on his red boots. 

 

“They act like I don't already know we're going to the arcade to celebrate my birthday,” Toby said.

 

“I’m gonna win you everything,” Kon said, Toby didn't have to look up from lacing his boots to know he was smirking.

 

“Isn't using your tactile telekinesis to win prizes morally wrong?” Toby asked, flashing Kon a smile.

 

“Well no one’s telling Superman so I think we're good,” Kon said before he bent down slightly to kiss his forehead.

 

“Love you, babe,” Toby said.

 

“Love you too, meme lord,” Kon said, smiling wildly.

 

When they finally made it out of the bedroom Luke was waiting in the kitchen, a spring roll half shoved in his mouth.

 

“You guys ready?” Luke asked, his mouth was full of chewed up eggroll.

 

“Yeah,” Toby said.

 

“Totally,” Kon said, his finger guns were one handed because his other hand was laced with Toby’s.

 

* * *

 

Toby watched as Kon used his powers to covertly win prizes. He was playing the idea he had fantastic luck and it was honestly fun to watch. After winning two jackpots and a couple skill games, in addition to a game that allowed people to win soft, high quality stuffed animals. 

 

He’d won Toby a shark stuffie and watched as he rubbed it against his face. It was something Tim and Kon had seen before, whenever Toby liked the feeling of something he’d rub it against his face. It was almost cute.

 

Duke came up behind Toby and hugged him. Toby rolled his eyes, but leaned back against him.

 

“Happy birthday, dorko,” Duke said.

 

“Mmm, where’s Cullen and Cass?” Toby asked.

 

“I am wounded! Aren't you satisfied with just me?” Duke asked.

 

“Nope,” Toby said.

 

Duke acted like he was physically hurt, holding one hand over his heart and dramatically swaying. Toby responded by rolling his eyes.

 

“They're over there playing skeeball. Apparently Cass has fantastic aim and wants to win the big stuffed animal,” Duke said, seemingly recovered from his apparent betrayal.

 

Toby nodded and headed towards them. Cass was focusing intently on scoring 100s. She'd scored 5 in a row. She’d already won the high score for it and there was a small pile of tickets sitting next to her. Cullen had his cane tucked under his arm and was leaning his weight onto his good leg. He was clapping for her as she managed to hit yet another 100.

 

“Hey Cass!” Toby said. Cass didn't look up from the machine. She threw the last few balls, three 100s and a 50.

 

[Hey, Toby]

 

“Happy birthday,” Cullen said.

 

“Thanks. I'm officially 17,” Toby said, smiling wildly. He turned around and spotted Luke, Tiger, and Dick in deep conversation while Beth attempted to drag Damian off. He was resisting the way she’d taken hold of his arm, but Toby was seeing his restraint waver.

 

“How does it feel to be a dancing queen? Young and sweet, only 17,” Cullen sang the last part. Toby rolled his eyes in retaliation, watching as Duke came up behind him and kisses his cheek. Cullen let out a surprised sound before shuffling around to kiss him.

 

Toby flinched slightly when he heard Beth scream his name. A second later she was jumping into his arms and chattering away about what she was doing in preschool.

 

“I’m guessing you like school,” Toby said.

 

“Yeah! We had career day last week and Aunt Babs came in and she talked about being a librarian and it was cool!” Beth’s voice was quick and enthusiastic, she was so happy and Toby couldn't help but smile.

 

“Hey, Toby, we need to talk,” Tim whispered, his voice almost directly to Toby’s ear. Toby could feel his warm breath on his ear.

 

“Okay, I'll meet you in the bathroom in a minute,” Toby said before kissing Beth’s cheek. “Beth, why don't you go get your dads to play some games with you.”

 

Toby walked evenly, occasionally pausing to readjust his wrist brace. He tried to conceal the nervousness rising in his chest.

 

“Your mom is back in town,” Tim said.

 

“I know, she talked to me last night. She said that since I won't take my place as her heir that I am now an enemy. Talia told me she wanted me back a couple days ago.”

 

“Why didn't you tell me?” Tim sounded betrayed and Toby didn't know what to say.

 

“Because it just happened last night and I didn't want to worry you. I was gonna tell you later, but it seems you already knew,” Toby bit his lip. He knew Tim was a fantastic strategist, that he could come up with a better plan than Toby could. Two years of working on teams, relying on others, hadn't managed to know other people would help him. That asking for help was necessary to succeed.

 

“Okay, okay. We need to get ahead of this. I’ll come up with a strategy. It'll be okay,” Tim said. He had the look on his face that he got whenever he was concentrating hard. It was cute, he'd bite his bottom lip and his eyebrows would knit together.

 

“I’m going back to the party. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, I'll talk to you later,” Toby said, moving to kiss Tim’s cheek and rub the back of his head, a comforting movement.

 

When Toby got out of the bathroom he noticed Beth sitting on Kon’s shoulders as he was attempting to win her a large stuffed animal from a crane machine. Toby could tell that he was reaching out with his powers to help win the stuffed animal and Toby's stress seemed to melt away. It would be okay, he was sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment...


	3. Will You Take My Life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for death and violence. Uuuuuhhh sorry about everything in this chapter.
> 
> Chapter title comes from Broken by Lund. It's recommended listening for this chapter in particular.

Kon left town 3 hours after the end of the party, giving Toby and Tim each several kisses and affectionate cuddling before flying off in his Kryptonite suit. After that Toby and Tim returned to Luke’s apartment, calling up Tam because they needed some help. She arrived 20 minutes later with a backpack brimming with Wayne Tech supplies.

 

“What do you guys need all this for?” Tam asked, setting the backpack down on the coffee table.

 

Toby and Tim had spent the last half hour turning Luke’s living room into a war room, there was two laptops set out, a large map of Gotham, with important places marked with stickers. Wayne Tower, the Robin’s Nest, the Warehouse, several supply caches, Dick’s penthouse, and the Clocktower were all marked. Toby had called Babs and Leelah to ask them to double security on all known places related to the family. Leelah had asked what was going on, Toby simply told her that his mom was back in town and had seemingly teamed up with Ra’s al Ghul.

 

Her warning rang in his head, “Stay safe, baby bird.” Jason, Luke, and Leelah all called him that. It felt comforting and normal even though nothing about the situation was normal.

 

“We think there’s an attack on the Batfamily being planned. Well, Toby in particular, we think Ra’s and Freelance are back in town,” Tim said.

 

Tam let out a low whistle. “That explains why you need all that shit, I’m gonna stay out of this. If you're cool with it I’ll hang out with you guys, but I don't want to get killed by Ra’s al Ghul, or the woman who killed Batman.”

 

Toby nodded, he didn't want them to kill him either, but it seemed that decision was out of his hands. Death hadn't seemed so close before, being a vigilante it always loomed before him like a silent warning, but now it seemed real. No matter how careful he was maybe it wouldn't be enough. He wasn't going to join his mother, he would never hurt an innocent person.

 

“You okay?” Tim asked, raking a hand through Toby’s hair.

 

“Mmhmm, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

 

It was a lie, he wasn't okay, he was scared to death. He didn't know if his mother would leverage Tim over him, or if she'd hurt his friends. He didn't want to find out what she would do for his loyalty, what lengths she would go to. The thought made his skin crawl. He briefly wondered if she'd rather a dead son than a son who wouldn't obey her.

 

“I’m good. Let’s head out on patrols in a little while, finish up this work then we’ll be good,” Tim said in his calm, soothing voice. He turned to Tam. “Tell Tiffany to stay off the streets for the next couple days. Things might get bloody and she's still kinda new to the whole vigilante thing.”

 

Tam nodded, her mouth was half full of Nacho Cheese Doritos.

 

“She already went out for patrols tonight, she's with Jason and Luke though,” Tam said.

 

“I’ll go meet up with them,” Toby said.

 

* * *

 

Toby missed family time with Luke and Jason. He missed teasing Tiffany and he missed playing tag on rooftops. He loved the pure joy that came from it, the way it felt like home.

 

The call about an Arkham breakout came over the comms. Apprehending the Riddler was an easy job, head to his safehouses then check general crime hubs. Luke and Jason were headed downtown, Tiffany to regroup with an older Batgirl, Toby thought he heard something about Nightbat. Alysia, she was good at protecting the younger kids. Babs and her had been dating back in the day before Babs retired and Alysia became Batgirl.

 

Toby felt good knowing that Tiffany, Jason, and Luke would be safe. That Tim could hold his own against anything thrown at him. Toby fell into autopilot, guiding himself to the Riddler’s old hideout with practiced precision. First using his glider to get to his bike, then riding towards it. He almost missed the girl, he skidded out of the way as his bike spun wildly. He slammed to the ground, sliding a few feet. The last thing he saw was his mother’s face above him. Her words were hard to decipher, but she seemed to be congratulating the girl.

 

Toby’s vision faded out as he slipped into unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

When Toby’s vision came back he noticed he was somewhere unfamiliar. It was a warehouse, he could tell from the high ceilings and the exposed rafters. For a couple seconds he just told himself to breathe, not to move. He breathed heavily, it was hard. It felt like someone was sitting on his chest, every breath was a struggle.

 

After a few minutes the same girl from earlier came to his side.

 

“Do you want it?” she asked. Toby looked over at her hand, his inhaler.

 

Toby nodded, he didn't know if he should try speaking. Carefully she shook it before placing it in Toby’s mouth. He shakily breathed out and then breathed in as she pressed the top and he breathed in. He sung “Mary has a little lamb whose fleece is white as snow” in his head before breathing out. The medication was easing his breathing, making it feel better even though the steroid in it was making him shaky.

 

Toby briefly wondered if his mother had stayed long enough to give him a breathing treatment. If she had ever held him as a baby while he used the nebulizer or if she had denied him it until he was almost suffocating like his father. He wondered if she'd ever loved him that much, if he'd ever been a child, not an heir to her.

 

“Good?” she asked.

 

Toby gave a shaky thumbs up and she hummed, a satisfied sound. 

 

Toby realized he wasn't strapped down. There was an IV catheter in his arm, but no bag. He figured they'd wanted to take his blood more than once and an IV was an easy way to do that. As he sat up he noticed the ache in his head and for a second he felt light headed, but the feeling quickly disappeared.

 

“Can I leave?” Toby asked, his voice was shaky and unsure.

 

“No,” she said.

 

“Can you tell me your name then?” Toby asked.

 

“Athanasia,” she said.

 

“Can you leave?”

 

Athanasia’s face morphed into shock for a second before returning to a look of neutrality. “I am a good faith investment. I work for Freelance and in return she works for Grandfather. I would not leave her.”

 

“You can,” Toby said. “You have free will. If you want to leave I could help you.”

 

Athanasia narrowed her eyes, her look was puzzled.

 

“What do I have to do? I cannot let you go. If I fail her, I will go back to the tubes. If I fail bad they’ll kill me,” Athanasia said, her voice matter of fact as though it should be a fact of life for a kid who looked barely 12.

 

“You don't have to let me go. Just go to the Clocktower and tell them Cardinal sent you, Cullen’ll let you inside,” Toby said.

 

Athanasia nodded. “You promise you won't leave?”

 

“I promise, I’ll tell them it was my fault you left, that you went to collect my stuff so I could join them. I’ll… wait till they let me go or I get rescued. It won't be your fault,” Toby said.

 

Athanasia nodded stiffly. She tentatively hugged Toby, a silent thank you. Toby hugged her back.

 

She left and Toby returned to laying down, closing his eyes and silently losing himself in thought, they would rescue him, they would.

 

* * *

 

Toby didn't know how long it had been since he'd dozed off. He woke up to his mother’s voice, she was calling for Athanasia. Toby cleared his throat.

 

“She left to get my stuff. I told her I was joining your cause and that I needed my weapons,” Toby said.

 

“Are you?” Freelance asked.

 

“No,” Toby’s voice was defiant. He rose to unsteady feet, holding his hands in front of him. “Fight me.”

 

“You think you can best me?” Freelance laughed, a callous, harsh noise.

 

“Yes,” the word came out through gritted teeth.

 

“You are a very stupid boy,” she said before charging at Toby, producing a knife.

 

Toby’s movements were fluid. Cass had taught him the technique years ago, how to stop thinking about fight and just fight. It changed the way he fought. He wasn't as good as Cass, he couldn't know what someone was doing it before they did it, but he wasn't a bad fighter. He hoped it would be enough, that he would live through the fight.

 

Freelance tried to stab Toby, but he dodged. It only managed to graze his elbow. He tried to tackle Freelance and she let him, using his momentary surprise to sink her knife into him. The blade sunk into him, into his lung. Toby was taken by surprise as he tried to breathe in.

 

Freelance looked shocked, like someone had physically hurt her. Not sad or worried, but shocked. Toby briefly smiled about it before he coughed, his body was trying to expel the blood filling up his lungs.

 

“Did you love me?” Toby asked, he tried to ignore the pain, but it was so hard. The pain was overtaking him, making focusing on anything near impossible.

 

“What?” Freelance sputtered, like she'd been slapped.

 

“I loved you despite you leaving me, did you leave me despite loving me?” Toby asked. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the pain.

 

She didn't answer. She said nothing as she looked at her son, desperately trying not to drown in blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment!


	4. Now I'm 6 Feet Deep And I Can't Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for death.
> 
> Chap title comes from Broken by Lund

The girl’s name was Athanasia. She was smart enough to know everything about the city, the way the city and how to subway systems looped through it. Cullen was almost impressed, when he asked where Toby was she clammed up. Her voice turned callous and it reminded him remarkably of Damian. Her hair was longer, but it was a similar texture and an almost identical color. A little lighter, probably lightened by the sun.

 

“Toby’s been off comms for almost an hour, please tell me where he is,” Cullen said.

 

“She’ll kill you, she'll kill  _ me _ ,” Athanasia said.

 

“I won't let that happen,” Cullen said. “I’m going to have some people meet us there. I’m going to have the world’s best hand to hand combatant meet us there. She was trained, in part, by Shiva.”

 

Athanasia was silent for a few moments before she spoke. She walked over to the wall on the other side of the room and grabbed one of the Batarangs from the small display of weapons. She held it.

 

“I’m coming with you. This is my father’s weapon and I'm going to use it against the woman who killed him,” Athanasia said.

 

Cullen paused, she was Bruce’s daughter. It explained the hair and the look of seriousness far too deep set to belong to a child. 

 

“Okay, let's head out,” Cullen said. When Harper and him had arrived earlier they'd come in Harper’s beloved car. He was pretty sure if he didn't crash it she'd be none of the wiser.

 

Cullen linked his phone with the comm system and gave them directions. He wanted Cass and Duke to get to the address he'd been given as quickly as possible, Toby might be in trouble. There was a panicked noise on the other end, Cullen assumed from Cass and Duke confirmed they were heading there ASAP, they just needed to finish off a few goons.

 

The entire car ride Athanasia was silent, her look calculating. She had her hands clutched around the Batarang, like it was a lifeline. She'd never met her father, she never would. All she had to go on was stories about his greatness, his cleverness. She'd probably been raised the same way Damian had.

 

When they got there the place was abandoned, they'd beaten Duke and Cass. Nonetheless there was no sign of anyone inside. Cullen pulled Harper’s spare mask out of the trunk and set it to thermovision. No one inside. 

 

“There’s no one in there,” Cullen said.

 

Athanasia’s eyes went wide and she sprinted in there. Cullen followed her, ignoring the way his knee and hip twinged. He found the door thrown open and took in the wide, open room. Towards the other end was a steel bed frame and a thin mattress. After a second he noticed the blood pooled everywhere, more than Cullen could ever remember seeing.

 

The next thing he noticed was the body, Toby's body. His eyes were still open, fuck, Cullen had never seen something so brutal. How could… how could she kill her own child? How could she leave her child dead in a warehouse alone? Cullen didn't understand that. He didn't understand how someone could hurt and abandon their family like that. It made his skin crawl.

 

After a moment he carefully crouched down, checking Toby’s pulse. No feeling. Dead. Dead at 17.

 

Cullen didn't notice anyone had come in until he heard a noise. He spun towards it, prepared to defend himself, only to see Duke. 

 

“He's not dead,” Duke said.

 

“Duke,” Cullen said.

 

“Toby isn't dead,” his face was set into a stubbornness.

 

Cass followed in, her response was more immediate, a sob escaping her mouth. She gingerly closed Toby’s eyes. They were lifeless, them being closed was better. It hurt less, maybe if his eyes were closed they could just pretend he was asleep, that he'd wake up and it'd be okay.

 

It wouldn't be okay.

 

* * *

 

Toby’s body was in the Batcave infirmary. It was on a steel table, eyes closed and body lifeless. Everyone had been called back after they completed their missions, no one wanted to say that over comms. One of their own had been lost, again. 

 

Cass and Duke never left Toby’s side. Athanasia quiety hung back, blending into the shadows and flicking the batarang in her hand open and closed. Cullen floundered on what to do, he'd ended up hanging back. Alfred watched Toby’s body, everything they'd done was criminal. Moving a dead body was illegal in an of itself. He wasn't supposed to find his friend dead after being stabbed in the lung, the murder weapon lying next to him, he didn't know what to do. There was no easy answers it seemed.

 

The Cardinal suit was caked in blood, the bright red of the suit made sticky. Toby had tried to cough up blood while he'd been drowning in it, leading to blood going down his chin. Alfred had run a scan on his body, coming back with the results of how Toby had died. It was before anyone else had made it back.

 

Jason came in a half hour after the call, with Luke right behind him. They were joking, easy smiles on their face. They didn't know Toby was even hurt. Jason stopped dead when he saw the table. Toby was on it, not hooked up to any monitors or an IV, still in a way he'd never been before. Jason said nothing, briskly walking over to the case, the Robin case, the one where Bruce had memorialized the child Jason had once been, and put his fist straight through it. The crack of the glass and the slight pain as it sliced his arm was barely there. Jason didn't even register it. There was another dead child and it was his fault now. Toby dying was his fault. Plain and simple, he'd let down the one person he'd promised himself he wouldn't.

 

His voice was quiet, his eyes set downcast.

 

“Call Talia.”

 

* * *

 

They never sat shiva. Tim remembered when his parents had died and he'd mourned them, their house had been filled with people he didn't know and he'd sat in his room. He remembered people bringing food and patronizingly talking about how bad it was for the Drake kid. He remembered his nanny shoving him into a black dress which he'd taken off. He'd cut his hair in the back of the van, gathering it into a braid. Snipped it with one movement. He figured it counted as a keriah.

 

There was none of that after Toby’s death, he was never buried. Talia and Jason disappeared the morning after he died with the body. Kon and Jon came to the manor, Jon disappeared into the backyard with Maya, Damian, and Anathasia. Tim and Kon sat in Tim’s room, the silence hanging heavy between them.

 

“He's dead and we can't even bury him,” Tim’s voice was almost inaudible. He was holding Toby’s mask in his hand, the blood having been cleaned off. One of the lenses was broken and the other had popped out at some point.

 

Kon was silent. They'd lost people before, it hurt, but it'd never been like this. Young heroes never lived forever, Jason Todd had been such a cautionary tale because of it. None of their friends had ever died at the hand of their parent.

 

Dick knocked on the door, carefully opening it. He'd been taking care of his little siblings there since Bruce had died.

 

“Are you too okay?” he asked.

 

Tim shook his head. Kon stayed silent and unmoving.

 

“Have you told Beth?” Tim asked.

 

“No. I don't know what to say, she's 4. How do I explain death to her,” Dick asked.

 

Tim nodded, turning back to the mask. He laid down on his bed, easing Kon down with him. Tim buried his face in Kon’s chest, breathing in the scent of him. He wanted Toby back, he wanted it to be all better. Kon let out a shaky noise, like he was about to cry and held on tighter to Tim. They said nothing, just laying together, making sure they were both there.

 

Tim’s mirror was lined with pictures of him with his friends. A picture strip of them was stuck in the corner and Tim wanted to go back to that moment so bad, when everything had been okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEaSE COMMENT FRIENDS IM SORRY cOMMENT PLS!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment,,,,


End file.
